To be sure, the marriage between the Red Sox and closer Kenley Jansen always seemed to be a bit of a strange pairing.
Jansen, despite being 35 years old and clearly at the tail end of his career, signed a two-year, $32 million contract with Boston in 2022.
In retrospect, it’s hard to figure out what either side expected from the situation.
The Red Sox knew they were not ready to seriously compete for a playoff spot. Jansen had to know the same thing. Though Boston made a pair of flailing summer attempts at wild-card spots in the American League the past two seasons, hopes for the playoffs were pretty much wiped out by September in both cases.
Still, Jansen has a reputation as a solid veteran player and a clubhouse leader. However, he did not show much of either, certainly not during the 2024 season, capping the season by leaving the team early after he was placed on the injured list on September 24.
His Red Sox teammates, it seems, were none too happy about the situation.
Kenley Jansen Was ‘Somewhat Aloof’ in Boston
Writing for MassLive, veteran Red Sox beat man Sean McAdam reported on September 29 that the decision by Jansen to leave the team with six games left in the season and return home to California was taken as an insult by other Red Sox players.
Jansen did not travel to Toronto, where the Red Sox were to face the Blue Jays, after being put on the injured list with a shoulder injury, but as McAdam pointed out, that is standard procedure. The Red Sox, though, closed out the year with a weekend series at Fenway Park, and Jansen had already skeedaddled back home.
“Multiple players, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, registered their disappointment over Jansen’s early departure, though one added: ‘I can’t say I’m too surprised,’” McAdam wrote. “Jansen was known to be somewhat aloof during his time with the Sox, at times unsure of some teammates’ names.
“According to one Red Sox player, Jansen entered the training room last Sunday before his team’s split doubleheader with the Minnesota Twins and announced that he would pitch in the first game and that would be it. … He later told reporters that he was done pitching for the season, and suggested they confirm that with the team,” McAdam wrote.
Red Sox in Need of a Bullpen Overhaul in 2025
In all, Jansen went 7-8 in two years for the Red Sox, compiling 56 saves and an ERA of 3.44. There was speculation early in the year that Jansen would be traded, but a strong start for the Red Sox nudged the front office to keep him. Now that his contract is up, though, Jansen is certain to be moving on.
Speculation has held that Jansen will return to the Dodgers, where he spent the first 12 years of his career.
For the Red Sox, the wider issue is figuring out who, exactly, will fill Jansen’s shoes going forward. The team took a flier on former All-Star closer Liam Hendriks as he recovers from an elbow injury, and he will get a crack at the role, if healthy. But he is 35 and hardly a sure thing.
More likely, the Red Sox will have to continue their overhaul of the pitching staff by not only adding at least one starter, but likely two or even three first-rate bullpen arms.
